CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A 44-year-old resident of Corpus Christi has been ordered to prison after admitting her role in a federal drug scheme, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Katrina Kelly pleaded guilty Nov. 19, 2020. Thursday, U.S. District Judge David S. Morales ordered her to serve a 96-month sentence to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.
At the hearing, the court heard additional information describing Kelly's drug trafficking after previously earning a master's degree in social work and serving as a rehabilitation program specialist for a methadone clinic with Texas Health and Human Services. In handing down the sentence, Judge Morales noted Kelly's continued criminal conduct even while on bond in two federal cases.
In April 2020, Kelly was involved in a conspiracy with others to possess with intent to distribute kilograms of meth. She negotiated terms of the sale or distributed the meth from a residence in Corpus Christi. Laboratory analysis later positively confirmed the substance linked to her was meth.
Previously released on bond, Kelly was later taken into custody after violating the terms of her bond conditions. She will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with assistance from Texas Department of Public Safety and police departments in Kingsville and Corpus Christi. Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Manning prosecuted the case.
